Apparatus for printing on bodies having a plurality of flat surfaces



Jan. 25, 1966 K. STOECKHERT 3,

APPARATUS FOR PRINTING ON BODIES HAVING A PLURALITY OF FLAT SURFACES Filed Nov. 27, 1961 INVENTOR KLAUS STOECKHERT United States Patent 3,230,870 APPARATUS FOR PRlNTlNG 0N BODIES HAVING A PLURALITY 9F FLAT SURFACES Klaus tocckhert, llraunschweig, Germany, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 169,162 Claims priority, application Germany, Nov. 26, 19%, Sch 28,839 11 Claims. (Cl. 101-37) This invention relates to printing and more particularly to an apparatus for printing on bodies which have a plurality of flat surfaces, for example hollow bodies of rectangular section such as canisters of synthetic plastic material.

It is known, for example, in the packaging industry, to use various hollow bodies for the most varied contents of goods, such as canisters, cans, flasks, bottles and the like, which are made of sheet metal or synthetic plastic resin materials. For industrial reasons as well as for identifying the contents, the packaging plant requires either the application of labels or a printed decoration on the wall of the container. Labeling has been replaced in most cases by printing, particularly because of the ease of damaging the labels.

One of the most common processes for printing on hollow bodies, particularly those of synthetic plastic materials, such as bottles and the like, is the so-called silk screen process. This process however is extremely troublesome when printing is to be done at several sides of a multi-sided body, e.g., a canister of rectangular section, especially if the printing is to be in several colors. In such a case it is always necessary, after printing one side of the canister or the like, to rotate it. Printing in this fashion is very expensive. A peripheral offset printing of such bodies cannot be performed.

According to this invention, an apparatus is presented for printing bodies with a plurality of flat surfaces, by which the aforesaid difficulties are avoided. The printing is performed in a simple and rational manner without it being necessary to rotate the bodies to be printed from one position to another during the printing operation. The invention consists in that the bodies to be printed are advanced by a conveyor apparatus within which each of the print-receiving surfaces of the body is printed at a respective printing station. The bodies to be printed are for example conducted in the longitudinal direction by the conveyor apparatus, and the surfaces to be printed can, according to construction under the invention, be printed either in timed succession or simultaneously. Particularly preferred is the simultaneous printing of two opposite- 1y disposed surfaces of the body. The direction of advancement of the bodies to be printed, in the conveyor apparatus, may be either horizontal or vertical in accordance with the invention.

The apparatus for practicing the invention consists of a conveyor apparatus which can have individual conveyor sections corresponding to the number of surfaces to be printed, these sections having idler rollers with or without driven rollers, which are disposed in the printing plane and have one or more printing stations along their length.

These and other objects of the invention are more clearly set forth in the examples of practice which are illustrated in the attached drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a side view of a pair of horizontally disposed conveyor sections which include a series of drive rollers and idler rollers, and a pair of printing stations which are spaced along the length of the conveyor sections for sequentially printing upon upper and lower surfaces of an object of polygonal section.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view and illustrates a modified form of the invention wherein two printing stations are disposed in vertical alignment whereby upper and lower surfaces of the object may be printed upon simultaneously.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of another modified form of the invention and illustrates each conveyor section as having a plurality of printing stations spaced along the length thereof with the printing stations in one conveyor section being disposed in vertical alignment with a respective printing station in the other conveyor section for multi-color or multi-design printing upon opposite sides of the object.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a modified form of the invention which differs from the form shown in FIGURE 3 in that the printing stations are spaced along the length of the conveyor sections for sequential printing operations.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view of another form of the invention wherein a second set of conveyor sections and printing stations are arranged for printing upon opposite vertically disposed sides of the object such that four sides of the object may be printed upon during one pass of the object through the apparatus.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of another form of the invention wherein four conveyor sections and four printing stations are arranged to define a vertically disposed path such that an object may have printing applied to four sides thereof during downward movement of the object along the defined path, and a horizontally disposed conveyor belt is located below the lowermost printing station and is adapted to support the printed object on its unprinted base and transport the object away from the printing apparatus Without smearing or smudging the printed matter.

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section, taken on line 77 of FIGURE 6, and illustrates a pair of printing rollers having their axes displaced degrees relative to the axes of an adjacent pair of drive rollers.

FIGURE 8 shows a preferred construction of the transport rollers of the conveyor apparatus.

In the drawing, the operational parts are shown in conventionalized form; with frames, driving devices and other parts omitted for clearness.

FIG. 1 shows a conveyor apparatus which serves for printing two surfaces of a rectangular hollow body, for example a rectangular bottle of synthetic substance such as a resinous plastic, wherein two oppositely disposed surfaces of the body are to be printed.

The conveyor apparatus consists of two individual conveyor sections 1, 2, each of which comprises driven rollers 3 and idler rollers 4. Between the ends of the individual conveyor sections 1, 2 are printing stations 5, 6. The body '7 to be printed is moved along the conveyor apparatus in the direction of the arrow 8 by means of the rollers 3, 4. During this passage, first the printing station 5 acts on the upper horizontal surface of the body 7 and prints this. Thereafter the lower horizontal surface of the body 7 is printed by the printing station 6. The body 7 does not change its once-assumed position during its travel through the conveyor apparatus. After such passage, the body can be led away by a suitable delivery device (not shown) for drying, packing or the like. With the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 the printing of the surfaces is done in timed succession. FIG. 2 shows an ap paratus in which the surfaces to be printed, which are in this case two parallel surfaces opposite to one another, are printed simultaneously. The printing stations 5, 6 are in this case arranged in alignment in a vertical plane. The driven rollers are again designated as 3 and the idler rollers as 4.

In order to obtain multi-color printing upon each of the surfaces to be printed, a plurality of printing stations 5, 6, 9 and 10 can be associated with each individual conveyor section or flight 1, 2. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 3. In this example of execution there are two printing stations such as 5, 6 and 9, 10 preferably one of each of the same color, disposed inalignment in the respective vertical plane. The body 7 to be printed again is to be advanced in the direction of the arrow 3 through the conveyor apparatus with its individual conveyor sections or flights 1, 2 having the driven rollers 3 and the idler rollers d; wherewith the printing rollers 5, 6 first print the surfaces respectively opposite them with one color, and then the succeeding printing rollers 9, it print the surfaces wtih another color. It is feasible, to provide more than two printing stations with each of the individual conveyor sections or flights 1, 2 for multi-color printing. Multi-color printing can also be done by staggered printing stations similar to P16. 1. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 shows an arrangement in which the four sides of a rectangular canister can be printed successively in one operation. In this case, the hollow body '7 to be printed, is first simultaneously printed upon two oppositely disposed surfaces by the printing stations 5, 6. Behind the printing stations 5, 6 is provided an arrangement of transport rollers 3, 3a which are alternately by pairs displaced 90 degrees relative to one another about the axis of advancement of the body. Two printing stations 11, 12 are likewise displaced 90 degrees relative to the first two stations 5, 6, so that the other two surfaces of the rectangularhollow body can be printed. Obviously, this arrangement can be so extended, as in FIGS. 3 and 4, that multi-color printing is possible.

FIGURE 6 illustrates apparatus for printing on all four sides of the body '7 during one pass of the body 7 through the apparatus. Four conveyor sections are each vertically disposed so as to define a vertical path for downward movement of the body '7. The general arrangement is essentially as in FIG. 5, in which adjacent to the driven rollers 3 and 3a, displaced 90 degrees relative to one another, are provided the printing stations 5, 6, and adjacent to these the printing stations 11, 1 2 which again are displaced 90 degrees relative to the first stations 5, 6. After passage through this apparatus, the hollow bodies '7 are deposited in upright position on their unprinted ends upon a horizontal conveyor belt 13 which delivers them according to the further purpose of use. Placement of the bodies '7 upon their unprinted ends assures that the freshly printed matter will not be smudged or smeared. In order to assure that the containers, after leaving the last printing station, will come to stand in upright position on the conveyor belt 13, they may be braked by spring blades (not shown) so that they are seated on the conveyor belt without having too great a velocity of falling. By moving the spring blades to the side by any known mechanism, the hollow body is free to. travel along in upright position on the conveyor belt.

In order to prevent the rollers which accomplish the further transport of the bodies '7 after the printing, from smearing the printed decoration, these rollers must be of special construction. FIG. 8 shows an illustrative arrangement of such idler or driven rollers 3, 4 which accomplish the further transport of the canisters 7. These are reduced at their central region 14 corresponding to the width of the printed area and engage and guide the body by contact outside the area which has been printed. Therewith the freshly printed area is free and cannot be damaged. The rollers may also be so constructed that the larger ends can be fixed at various distances from one another so that the reduced central portion 14 is variable in extent, wherewith the rollers can be employed for canisters of different sizes.

' As previously described, the rollers 3 and 3a are driven rollers. Known types of power means, such as individufl motors, or belts and pulleys, or chains and sprockets may be utilized to rotate the drive rollers 3 and 3a. Frictional contact between the bodies 7 and the driven rollers 3 and 3a cause the bodies 7 to be advanced along the various conveyor sections. It will be apparent from a consideration of FIGURE '8 that the rollers 3, 3a and 4 have like construction such that the reduced central portion 14 is spaced from the adjacent surface of the body 7 to prevent contact with the printed areas thereon, and the rollers are provided with enlarged end portions 14' which include arcuate inner portions 14 such that a body 7 is not only transported by the rollers but is also guided and maintained in a proper path of travel.

In order to extend the possibilities of employment of the conveyor apparatus, it is preferable so to construct the mounting of the individual conveyor sections 1, 2 corresponding to the dimensions of the bodies to be printed that they can be displaced while parallel toward and from one another. he structure of the individual conveyor sections set out in the description is not limited to that shown, but rather such may be made in accordance with the requirements and demands, and other conveyor apparatus of themselves known, such as sections with small rollers or the like can be employed. it is within the scope of thisinvention to print not only hollow bodies of rectangular section, but also those with pluralities of sides such as sixand eight sided bodies, wherewith a number of individual conveyor sections, corresponding to the number of surfaces to be printed, are necessary.

While preferred forms and arrangement of parts have been shown in illustrating the invention, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in details and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for printing on sides of a body of polygonal section, comprising a pair of conveyor sections mounted inspaced parallel relation, said conveyor sections including a plurality of drive rollers for causing said body to move along between said conveyor sections, said rollers having engaging portions which engage said body at spaced portions thereof and have reduced portions which are spaced from said body along, a side thereof between the spaced portions of said body, and printing devices for printing upon the side of said body between said spaced portionsduring the movement of said body along said conveyor sections, each said conveyor section and at least one of the printing devices being located in a common plane, with the body being confined between said planes and held by the engagement of the conveyor sections against rotation about axes parallel to the direction of movement.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which at least two sets of said parallel conveyor sections and printing devices are provided, displaced relative to one another about said axes, with one set operative at two oppositely disposed sides of the body and another set being operative at another two oppositely disposed sidesofthe body.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which a printing device of one conveyor section is positioned along the path of body travel for printing on the respective side of the body before a printing device of the other conveyor section prints on the opposite side of the body.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which at least two spaced printing devices are associated with each conveyor section for successive printing on the respective side of the body.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which the conveyor sections are disposed horizontally for advancing the bodies between them in a horizontal direction.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which the conveyor sections are disposed vertically for advancing the bodies between them in a vertical direction.

7. An apparatus as in claim 6, in which the conveyor sections advance the bodies downwardly, and in which a horizontal conveyor is positioned beneath said sections for receiving the bodies therefrom.

8. An apparatus for printing on a body of polygonal section, comprising a first pair of parallel conveyor sections mounted in spaced relation to each other and each having a plurality of parallel rollers located in a common plane; a second pair of parallel conveyor sections mounted in spaced relation to each other and each having a plurality of parallel rollers located in a common plane, said second pair of sections being displaced 90 degrees with respect to said first pair of sections to define a pathway for movement of said body through said apparatus; said rollers having reduced central portions and larger end portions whereby the body is engaged only by the larger end portions; a first pair of parallel printing rollers each being mounted adjacent a respective one of said first pair of conveyor sections for printing on a first pair of opposite sides of said body, and a second pair of parallel printing rollers each being mounted adjacent a respective one of said second pair of conveyor sections for printing on a second pair of opposite sides of said body.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said conveyor sections are disposed in vertical planes and define a pathway for vertical downward movement of said body; and a conveyor belt horizontally disposed below said conveyor sections to receive said body after it is printed and to transport said body away from said pathway.

10. In an apparatus for printing on selected areas of a body, a roller mounted in said apparatus for guiding said body from a printing station, said roller comprising a reduced central portion and enlarged end portions, said enlarged end portions being engageable for guiding contact with parts of said body outside the printed areas, and said reduced central portion being spaced from the printed areas by said enlarged end portions to prevent contact with said printed areas.

11. A roller as defined in claim 10 wherein said enlarged end portions have arcuate inner portions for guiding contact with said body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 918,497 4/1909 Bates 101426 1,870,825 8/1932 Sprague 101-426 2,277,597 3/1942 Marzocchi 101-420 X 2,601,825 7/1952 Blakey 101--37 2,664,816 1/1954 Gibson l01-37 2,665,633 1/1954 Schubert 101-5 X 2,834,284 5/1958 Van Buskirk 10135 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. LEIGHEY, WILLIAM B. PENN,

Examiners. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR PRINTING ON SIDES OF A BODY OF POLYGONAL SECTION, COMPRISING A PAIR OF CONVEYOR SECTIONS MOUNTED IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION, SAID CONVEYOR SECTION S INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF DRIVE ROLLERS FOR CAUSING SAID BODY TO MOVE ALONG BETWEEN SAID CONVEYOR SECTIONS, SAID ROLLERS HAVING ENGAGING PORTIONS WHICH ENGAGE SAID BODY AT SPACED PORTIONS THEREOF AND HAVE REDUCED PORTIONS WHICH ARE SPACED FROM SAID BODY ALONG A SIDE THEREOF BETWEEN THE SPACED PORTIONS OF SAID BODY, AND PRINTING DEVICES FOR PRINTING UPON THE SIDE OF SAID BODY BETWEEN SAID SPACED PORTIONS DURING THE MOVEMENT OF SAID BODY ALONG SAID CONVEYOR SECTIONS, EACH SAID CONVEYOR SECTION AND AT LEAST ONE OF THE PRINTING DEVICES BEING LOCATED IN A COMMON PLANE, WITH THE BODY BEING CONFINED BETWEEN SAID PLANES AND HELD BY THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR SECTIONS AGAINST ROTATION ABOUT AXES PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT. 